Postgame Avs-Capitals: Varly’s Revenge

WASHINGTON – What was it like in the Avalanche locker room after the game tonight? Happy.

5-0 is the record now after a 5-1 win over the Caps. Semyon Varlamov is now 4-0 with that same 1.00 goals-against and a saves percentage over .980.

Four goals through five games. Elias Sports Bureau says that’s a new record in NHL history to start a season. Meaning, never has a team started a season with so few goals allowed in the first five games in which all were wins.

Varlamov said he hasn’t worked so hard since he was a teenager in Russia. He said Patrick Roy and Francois Allaire have worked him that hard. Roy had a good line after the game when asked about it: “Now he knows how I had it as an 18-year-old.”

Varlamov and J.S. Giguere’s goaltending has papered over some issues with the team in front of him. The Avs are giving up quite a few shots (41 tonight) and there have been some sloppy moments with the puck in their own zone. Plenty, in fact. Eventually, the Avs are going to have to tighten up that play in their own zone better if they really want to be a great team.

But right now, that’s nitpicking and I’m not going to be a Debbie Downer here. The fact is, teams can’t handle the Avs’ speed up front. There is no answer for a team that has Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon coming at them up the middle all the time. And John Mitchell has to be one of the best fourth-line centers in the league, for sure.

Varlamov is the big story right now though. He really looks great. This doesn’t seem like a fluke. No, he won’t allow just one goal a night forever. But he really looks a lot better than I ever remember. I’ll tell you one thing that has made a difference: he’s in better shape than ever before. There isn’t an ounce of fat on him anymore. He seems quicker side-to-side because of it.